Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Railway vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-22
2001-02-27
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Railway vehicle
C246S16700M, C246S16900S
Reexamination Certificate
active
06195600
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention generally relates to two-way end-of-train (EOT) radio telemetry systems used in the railroad industry. More particularly, the invention pertains to a novel method by which the electronic air brake equipment of a freight train can be used with a two-way EOT radio telemetry system to control application of the brakes on a freight train in an emergency.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The following background information is provided to assist the reader to understand the general environment in which the invention will typically be used. The terms used herein are not intended to be limited to any one narrow interpretation unless specifically stated otherwise in this document.
As shown in
FIG. 1
, a typical freight train
1
includes one or more locomotives
2
, a plurality of railcars
3
and a pneumatic trainline known as the “brake pipe”
4
. The brake pipe is the means by which brake commands are pneumatically conveyed from the lead locomotive
2
to each of the railcars
3
in the train. As shown in
FIG. 2
, the brake pipe
4
is actually composed of a series of interconnected pipe lengths
4
a
, with one pipe length secured to the underside of each railcar. The pipe length
4
a
on each railcar is connected at each end to one end of an angle cock
5
. Each angle cock
5
is connected at its other end to one end of a hose
6
, with the other end of the hose being connected to a glad hand
7
. When the glad hands of adjacent railcars are coupled together, they form a glad hand coupler—the pneumatic connection that links the pipe lengths of the adjacent railcars. The brake pipe
4
of the train is thus formed by coupling the glad hand
7
of each railcar to the glad hand of the railcar or locomotive located immediately adjacent to it. It is to the brake pipe
4
of the train that the pneumatic brake equipment on each railcar connects via a branch pipe
8
. (Closing an angle cock
5
prevents air from flowing along the brake pipe to any of the railcars located downstream of the closed angle cock.)
The locomotive
2
itself has its own pneumatic trainlines including a main reservoir equalizing (MRE) pipe, an independent application and release (IAR) pipe, and an actuating pipe. Within a locomotive consist (i.e., two or more locomotives connected together), the MRE, actuating and IAR pipes of each locomotive connect to the MRE, actuating and IAR pipes of adjacent locomotives. The locomotive houses the electronic air brake equipment, such as the EPIC© 3102 or EPIC© II type brake control systems produced by the Westinghouse Air Brake Company (WABCO). As shown in
FIG. 1
, such equipment typically includes a cab station unit
20
, a brake control computer
30
, a pneumatic operating unit (POU)
40
and a locomotive interface unit (LIU)
45
. Through a bank of input relays, the LIU conveys various input signals to the brake control computer
30
. Through a bank of output relays in the LIU, the computer
30
can provide various output signals to other equipment in the locomotive.
The cab station unit
20
houses the automatic and independent brake handles
21
and
22
, and generates various signals including those representing the positions of the brake handles
21
and
22
. These signals are conveyed to the brake control computer
30
. Based on the inputs it receives and the software that dictates its operation, the brake control computer
30
controls the overall operation of the brakes. According to the commands it receives, including those from the brake control computer
30
, the POU
40
affects the pressure in the IAR and brake pipes, as well as in the other pneumatic trainlines, and thereby controls the brakes on the train.
The POU
40
features a pneumatic laminate to which the brake control computer
30
and various pneumatic and electropneumatic operating portions mount. Through a number of ports and internal passages, the pneumatic laminate interconnects these operating portions to each other and to branch pipes that carry air from or to the actuating pipe, the MRE pipe, the IAR pipe, the brake pipe, the brake cylinder and/or various storage tanks such as the equalizing reservoir in the locomotive. Among the various devices mounted to the pneumatic laminate are the independent application and release (IAR) portion, the brake cylinder (BC) control portion and the brake pipe (BP) control portion. As alluded to previously, it is primarily the brake control computer
30
, based on the inputs it receives and the software that dictates its operation, that controls the operation of these three operating portions of the POU
40
.
As shown in
FIG. 2
, the pneumatic brake equipment on a typical freight railcar includes two storage reservoirs
9
/
10
, one or more brake cylinders
11
and at least one brake control valve
12
such as an ADB, ABDX or ABDW type valve made by the Westinghouse Air Brake Company (WABCO). The brake control valve
12
has a service portion
13
and an emergency portion
14
typically mounted on a pipe bracket
15
. The pipe bracket features a number of internal passages and several ports. Each port connects to one of the interconnecting pipes from the railcar such as those leading to the brake pipe, the brake cylinder and the two reservoirs. It is through the ports and internal passages of the pipe bracket
15
that the service and emergency portions
13
and
14
of the brake control valve
12
communicate fluidly with the pneumatic piping on the railcar.
The automatic brake handle
21
can be moved from and in between a release position at one extreme in which brake pipe pressure is maximum and the brakes are completely released to an emergency position at another extreme in which brake pipe pressure is zero and the brakes are fully applied. The automatic brake handle positions include release, minimum service, full service, suppression, continuous service and emergency. Between the minimum and full service positions lies the service zone wherein each incremental movement of the automatic brake handle
21
toward the full service position causes the pressure within the brake pipe
4
to reduce incrementally.
By moving the automatic brake handle
21
, the operator can control the pressure level in the brake pipe
4
and thereby direct whether, and to what extent, the brakes on both the locomotive(s) and the railcars are applied. More specifically, moving the automatic brake handle causes the brake control computer
30
to affect the operation of the BP control portion of the POU
40
. The BP control portion, in turn, affects the pressure within the equalization reservoir of the locomotive whose pressure the brake pipe
4
generally mimics. The pressure in the brake pipe
4
, in turn, affects not only the operation of the brake control valve(s)
12
on each railcar
3
but also the operation of the BC control portion in the locomotive
2
.
Dependent on the position of the automatic brake handle
21
, the pressure level within the brake pipe
4
determines whether the brake control valve
12
on each railcar will charge its reservoirs
9
/
10
or deliver pressurized air previously stored in one or both of its reservoirs
9
/
10
to the brake cylinders
11
. By changing its pressure level using the automatic brake handle, the brake pipe
4
is used to convey release, service and emergency brake commands to the pneumatic brake equipment on each railcar
3
in the train.
When the automatic brake handle is moved to its release position, the brake control computer
30
commands the BP control portion to increase pressure within the equalizing reservoir and thus the brake pipe
4
. The MRE pipe in the locomotive is used to charge the brake pipe
4
to a normal maximum operating pressure via the BP control portion. In response to this release brake command (i.e., when brake pipe pressure is restored to the maximum pressure set by the operator), the service portion
13
of each brake control valve
12
not only charges its two reservoirs
9
/
10
with the pressurized air it receives from the brake pipe
4
but also vents its brak
Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
James Ray & Associates
Marc-Coleman Marthe Y
Westinghouse Air Brake Company
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